Sale and purchase of a home

[hpsadg81]

We owned a home for 40 years, which we sold in September 2021 and bought a new home in October 2021. What are the ramifications and is this covered in Turbo tax Premier?  

[HelenC12]

Yes, you may use TurboTax Premier to report the sale of your residence. 

If the home was your personal residence and you have a gain on the sale,  some or all of the gain may not be taxed. If your filing status is Single, Head of Household or Married Filing Separately, you won't pay taxes on the first $250,000 that you make from the sale of your home. If you're filing status is Married Filing Jointly, you won't pay taxes on the first $500,000.

That income is free and clear as long as:

• You owned the home
• It was your main home for two years or more within the five years leading up to the sale
• You waited at least two years between selling your primary home and excluding your first $250,000 or $500,000 from taxes. In other words, you may buy and sell as many primary homes as you'd like, but you'll only get this tax benefit every two years.

When you sell a second home, the tax situation is different.

TurboTax will show you if your home sale is taxable.

1. Open or continue your return in TurboTax
2. Search for home sale
3. Select the Jump to link in the search results
4. Answer Yes to Did you sell or have your home foreclosed in 2021? on the Sale of Your Main Home screen
5. Follow the instructions to enter your info

[hpsadg81]

Is there anything about selling and buying a home within 45 day period? 

[DianeW777 · Accepted solution]

No.  The only concern is the home that was sold, making sure you meet the requirements (which you did) of living in the home for two of the five years immediately preceding the sale.  This allows the tax free treatment of the gain up to the limit shown by @HelenC12.

The deductions for the new home are mortgage interest and real estate taxes.  Be sure to include the prorata share on the date of the sale from the settlement statement as well as any property tax paid after purchase.  Do not include money placed in escrow, only amounts actually disbursed from that account, if applicable.